


Adventure In Progress Ep. 1

by Gekuu9



Series: Adventure In Progress [1]
Category: No Fandom
Genre: Adventure, DnD-esque, Fantasy, Gen, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:06:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7216273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gekuu9/pseuds/Gekuu9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tales of a mighty group of adventurers set in a traditional fantasy world that will be built on as the series progresses. </p><p>This first episode introduces us to the current gang, and will largely centered around exploring the world of Adventure In Progress and defining the relationships of the characters.  Each episode after this will be mostly independent plot-wise, and will usually result in some sort of change within either the characters or the universe.</p><p>Most chapters will be story-driven, but some will focus more on interactions that the characters have that are not immediately important to the plot.</p><p>This is my second work on Ao3, and the first that is set in an original universe. Feedback is much appreciated, as I still have much to learn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adventure In Progress Ep. 1

Iudocus hesitated as his friends entered the large building in front of them. The hulking wrought iron door before them had taken all of Harishva’s strength to open, and as he sat there suddenly left behind, he began to seriously consider whether he should follow them. Surely such an ominous looking building would hold something… well, ominous inside of it. Perhaps even dangerous. And while Iudocus was fully prepared to face danger- he had been in countless, less than safe situations in his lifetime- maybe this was just too much of a wager. 

“Having second thoughts?” A voice behind Iudocus startled him into nearly transforming in terror. When he saw a familiar robed man, he relaxed, but his confusion remained. Didn’t Arian enter the strangely church-like construction with the rest of his friends? He was unusually stealthy for a priest. Perhaps it is just one of the many things Iudocus does not know, or does not understand about his holy friend. Putting that train of thought on hold, Iudocus slowly nodded, wearing a slightly sheepish expression. The priest smiled warmly.

“I know the feeling. I can’t say I’ve been excited to join our companions leaping into the fray, particularly because I’m the one tasked with keeping their limbs attached to their bodies. But that’s exactly why I follow them so. They’re a stubborn bunch. Even if I let them go on ahead of me, that won’t stop them from charging in and getting themselves killed. And If I could have helped them but didn’t, what does that make me? A traitor? A murderer? Or the sole survivor? Frankly, I don’t want to be any of those.” Arian’s logic was sound, as usual. The man seemed to have an everlasting fountain of wisdom in his head; whether it came from his faith or his experiences, one could not say. Even so, Iudocus’ doubts were not completely vanquished. Something inside him was nagging him to sit this one out. Acting as if he didn’t notice his friend’s lingering anxiety (which he did; Arian notices everything), Arian strolled elegantly into the hungry darkness of the structure looming over them both. Iudocus hesitated, but followed his friend after being left alone for a few moments.

 

Harishva led the party as per usual, holding the torch that gave the only illumination in the room. Iudocus noted that he could not see the walls within the area the torch lit, indicating that the room was quite large. Did the room continue into the mountain? Or was the structure bigger than Iudocus had thought? Despite the open space, he felt an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. For what felt like an eternity, everyone continued in complete silence, the only ambience being the sound of their footsteps. Just as Iudocus was about to suggest they leave, Harishva stopped and held up her hand to signal her acquaintances to be alert.

“Wait. Something is not right here. This building did not look so big from the outside…” As if something had been waiting for her to hesitate, the torch went out. Or… did it? The room was plunged into total darkness, the only visible object being… the torch. The flame continued to burn, but let off no light whatsoever. After a brief moment of confusion, Arian attempted to summon an orb of light, but the problem persisted as the ball floated there pointlessly. A demonic voice suddenly sounded throughout the room… or was it just in Iudocus’ head?

_ Trespassers… why have you disturbed me from my sleep?  _ A shiver might have gone down Iudocus’ spine at this point, but it was interrupted by a shrill noise that resembled a scream, but had a distinctly  _ non-human  _ quality to it. Iudocus collapsed on the floor and felt his conscious slowly fading. This is how I die, Iudocus thought. Killed by the folly of his companions, by an uncharacteristic lapse in Arian’s judgement and by the eagerness of his female co-workers to throw themselves in danger without a second thought. Not an awful way to go, but Iudocus had hoped for something less humiliating. But before he blacked out, the high pitched noise halted, and the voice inside his head yelped in pain.  _ RGHAAAAH! What is the meaning of this?! _

A voice Iudocus identified as Arian rang out confidently. “Begone, demon! The Wyrds of the Holy Ones banish you back to the hell which you came from!” Arian muttered an incantation, and the voice screamed once again.  _ NO! YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, MORTAL! YOU! YOU…  _ The voice faded, and the room was flooded with light.

 

“I can’t believe you fell for that! Wahahahahaaa, ohh I love doing that.” A high pitched human voice giggled at the adventurers as Arian helped his friends off the stone floor. Kalina was the first to respond.

“Identify yourself, demon! Or… whatever you are!” she shouted, wavering ever so slightly. Iudocus turned to face whoever this was, and was taken aback by what he saw. About twenty feet away, a boy of young age… floated? He was still laughing.

“Oh, me? My name is…” The room darkened again, and the voice from previous returned.  _ My name is Archdemon Kalasessagon, lord of the Seven Hells and general of the Infernal Legion!  _ Iudocus began to panic again just before the lights blinked back on. The boy was having a renewed fit of laughter as the group readied their weapons and looked around nervously. “Oh  _ man,  _ you guys are fun to mess with. I guess I don’t have to kill you after all.” Confusion filled Iudocus’ mind as he tried to comprehend what was happening. 

“Oh, where are my manners? Name’s Max. Nice ta meetcha!” Iudocus finally got a good look at the kid as he floated closer to them. He hovered several feet above the ground, laying down as if he was lounging on a chair made of thin air. Seeming to be around eleven winters old, Max had slightly messy brown hair and wide blue eyes. Iudocus searched for any sign of an illusion, any flickering or abnormalities, but his form seemed perfectly tangible. The complete lack of logic in this situation led him to briefly conclude that he had died, but before he could contemplate his existence too much, Harishva pulled out her bow and strung an arrow pointed at the child. “What are you? An imp? A vampire? A shapeshifter?” He giggled slightly and disappeared, only to reappear behind Harishva.

“Why do you assume that I’m some sorta monster? I’m just a kid. Can your little Orc brain not handle that?” Harishva spun around quicker than Iudocus thought was possible and immediately fired the arrow at him. As everyone probably expected, Max just teleported back in front of everyone, faking an indignant expression.

“Why, how rude! I welcome you into my home, decide not to kill you, and his is how you repay me? Y’know, I think I might change my mind on that. I’m getting a little bored, you’re ever so predictable.” Harishva bared her teeth at him, but Arian pushed her aside.

“Apologies for my rudeness, but I think we all deserve some kind of explanation as to what is going on here. Who really are you, and how do you possess such great power if you are, as you claimed, just a child?” Max smiled sarcastically.

“Wow, you’ve got some guts. I like that. Well, I’m afraid there’s not much to say. I was born with incredible magical ability, more raw talent than some of the greatest sorcerers in history. Long story short, my parents were killed along with the rest of my village. I roamed around for a while before I found this place.” Max paused for a moment as everyone looked around to see just what ‘this place’ was. It seemed to be some sort of abandoned place of worship, though none of the idols or glyphs that lined the walls resembled any religion Iudocus had seen before.

“Anyways, I figured this would be a good place to set up shop, so to speak. I went into all the nearby villages and spread rumors of treasure and riches hidden in here. Dozens of adventurers have come here, and the few that escaped… well, let’s just say, I relieved them of some weight in their wallets. Now, enough about me. Why don’t you four tell me a little about yourselves? Maybe then I’ll decide what to do with you.”

Arian spoke up again before anyone else could. “I am Arian Varda, priest of the Holy Ones. This is Harishva, a former member of an elite Orcish scouting group.” Max gave her a stupid grin, and somehow she glared even harder at him. Arian continued, “This is Kalina Evermoore, warrior and exiled princess of the Kingdom of Snow Elves. And this, is Iudocus Darkthorne, an old friend of mine. We roam the land offering help to those in need, in exchange for…  monetary compensation.” Kalina laughed at his explanation.

“Arian, you’re not helping our case by glorifying it. We’re a bunch of mercenaries, that’s what we are!” She gave a toothy grin to Max, who returned the gesture generously. Arian looked slightly exasperated at Kalina’s interjection, but remained silent.

“Y’know what, I’m kinda tired of living alone in an abandoned church. Maybe I’ll tag along with you guys, this mercenary work sound like real fun.” Harishva immediately shouted, “NEVER!”, but Arian hastily pulled her and the others aside to talk.

“What do we all think? Should we let him join us?” he whispered. With slightly more control than before, Harishva once again refused.

“Why should we let him come with us? He threatened to kill us! And I don’t think I can take any more of his stupid banter. We should just leave, this is a waste of time.” Kalina nudged her playfully.

“Aw, c’mon! He’s fun! Plus, he’s super powerful! With that kind of firepower on our side, we won’t even need to be mercs anymore, we could take over the kingdom!”

Arian spoke next. “I truly have no strong feelings either way. It comes down to you, Iudocus. Do you think we should allow him to join us in our travels?” Iudocus could tell that Arian was lying about having no strong feelings. He felt simultaneously honored and nervous about being given the final say in the matter, as all three of his companions stared at him with varying intensity.

Iudocus first began to wonder how he got in this situation in the first place. The innkeep in the village they were passing through had mentioned a great treasure hidden in the mountains, likely one of the lies that Max fabricated to lure adventurers to their deaths. They had fallen into his trap, hook line and sinker, but for some unknowable reason, he wanted to join them. Was there some ulterior motive? A tiny voice in his head suggested that he may just be lonely; he’s only a kid after all. Iudocus sighed in resignation.

“Uhh… I, uhh… I guess I don’t really see any harm in letting him… tag along?” Harishva gave him her trademark stink eye, but did not argue further.

“Guys? You know I’m magic, right? I can hear every single word you’re saying, there’s no point in trying to be secretive. But, I’m pleased that you decided to let me tag along. Shall we get going then?” Max’s voice brought the gang back to reality. He was already making his way out the door by the time they turned back. With a shrug, Arian led the group after Max into the daylight.


End file.
